They say that life never imitates art, and as the depiction of prostitution in films - Pretty Woman being a prime example - is nothing like the reality. This line of work puts them in constant danger from the freaks that infest society, and every so often, a killer puts up a ring of fear. Sutcliffe, Wright, Griffiths, to name but a few. In the mid 1980's a possible serial killer was stalking the streets of Birmingham. This post lists three of the four that may be attributed to the same man. Janine Downes was a 22 year old mother of three, who came from a broken home, in and out of care homes and finally found herself plying for punters in Birmingham`s red light area. This case has been the subject of a cold case review in the last couple of years. Janine was last seen at the beginning of February 1991, when her body was discovered on the 2nd, concealed in a hedge, on the A464, East of Shifnal. Some of her clothes were missing as she was found wearing a blouse, bra & socks. She had been sexually assaulted, strangled and very badly beaten. She had extensive head wounds. It was said that she was favoured by deviant punters, as she was small in height and stature, making her look like a young girl. This is not an uncommon desire amongst men.
The second murder is that of 28 year old Yvonne Coley who was found near the Cocks Moor Woods Golf Course in Kings Heath on 25th May 1984. Yvonne, who hailed from Bordesley Green in Birmingham, also worked the red light area. She was semi naked, and had been strangled with her own bra. The third murder is of 22 year old Valerie Brown. She was found on 8th December 1983, in Alderhanger Lane, at Wythall. Her body, like Yvonne`s, was concealed in a hedge. She had been beaten to death. Theories ran that the second and third murders may have been committed by a pimp, and other theories have put forward convicted killers Alun Kyte & Phillip Smith. As of now, all three remain unsolved. As ever, if anybody knows something, they should report it immediately.
Saturday, 19 April 2014
Friday, 18 April 2014
Alun Kyte - Is He A Serial Killer?
This man was handed two life sentences at Nottingham Crown Court for two murders and a detailed examination of this man`s life has led to speculation that he may be a serial killer, with a body count comparable or higher than Sutcliffe. This man is Alun Kyte, born on July 7th 1964 in Tittensor in Stoke-on-Trent, and grew up in the Rickerscote area of Staffordshire. As a youngster he suffered from chronic asthma which made him a sickly child. His mother & sisters doted on him. As he got older, he took to travelling all over the country, staying in hostels & B&B`s. He was to tell people that he was looking for work. Police now believe he was searching out victims from far and wide. As has been shown in the USA, travelling offenders are much more difficult to trace. They believe that most of his victims were prostitutes.
A woman named Betty Wilson was driving to work and she saw a Ford Sierra parked on the grass. The driver was pulling a trilby down over his face, but a woman in the passenger seat, dressed in a black dress, sat staring ahead, eyes open but not moving. She carried on her journey not knowing what to make of it. The woman turned out to be 20 year old prostitute Sammo Paull. She had been strangled. She had last been seen alive in December 1993. Then it was in March 1994, Tracy Turner was found naked, and dumped in a country lane. She had been seen at 12.41am at the Hilton Park Service Station, on the M6, near Staffordshire. Police were made aware of reports of a man claiming to be a reporter looking into local murders and asking if the victims used the Service Station.
Police finally had their man in December 1997 when a woman fled from his home and after being raped and sodomised. They grabbed him as he was leaving two hours later. At Bristol Crown Court, he was jailed for 8 years. A routine DNA sample flagged him up as the killer of Tracy Turner, and not long after, he was charged with the murder of Sammo Paull. Later, a former prostitute from Balsall Heath in Birmingham, told how Kyte approached her and offered £40 for sex. She got in his Austin Maestro and parked in an unlit carpark of Moseley Hall Hospital. He held a knife to her throat, demanded her purse and that she strip. She pleaded with him not to hurt her as she was three months pregnant. For some reason, he stopped, told her to get out and threw her clothes after her.
Police have started checking his background and whereabouts to see if he may be responsible for at least six or more other unsolved murders. He was dubbed "The Midlands Ripper" the word "Ripper" now being generally applied to multiple killers here in the UK.
A woman named Betty Wilson was driving to work and she saw a Ford Sierra parked on the grass. The driver was pulling a trilby down over his face, but a woman in the passenger seat, dressed in a black dress, sat staring ahead, eyes open but not moving. She carried on her journey not knowing what to make of it. The woman turned out to be 20 year old prostitute Sammo Paull. She had been strangled. She had last been seen alive in December 1993. Then it was in March 1994, Tracy Turner was found naked, and dumped in a country lane. She had been seen at 12.41am at the Hilton Park Service Station, on the M6, near Staffordshire. Police were made aware of reports of a man claiming to be a reporter looking into local murders and asking if the victims used the Service Station.
Police finally had their man in December 1997 when a woman fled from his home and after being raped and sodomised. They grabbed him as he was leaving two hours later. At Bristol Crown Court, he was jailed for 8 years. A routine DNA sample flagged him up as the killer of Tracy Turner, and not long after, he was charged with the murder of Sammo Paull. Later, a former prostitute from Balsall Heath in Birmingham, told how Kyte approached her and offered £40 for sex. She got in his Austin Maestro and parked in an unlit carpark of Moseley Hall Hospital. He held a knife to her throat, demanded her purse and that she strip. She pleaded with him not to hurt her as she was three months pregnant. For some reason, he stopped, told her to get out and threw her clothes after her.
Police have started checking his background and whereabouts to see if he may be responsible for at least six or more other unsolved murders. He was dubbed "The Midlands Ripper" the word "Ripper" now being generally applied to multiple killers here in the UK.
The Unsolved Murder of Becky Hall
This cold case has just undergone a review with an appeal from Bradford Police for any fresh information. 19 year old Becky was found naked and very badly beaten in an alleyway, behind a car park in Thornton Street, right in the heart of the red light district. Becky had turned to prostitution in order to fund her addiction to heroin. Police said that she had been subjected to a brutal and sustained beating. She left her residence in Elizabeth Street in the Little Horton district and presumably headed for Thornton Road, to tout for business. It was 10pm on Good Friday April 13th 2001. She was found two weeks later, leading to speculation she had been held somewhere.
Two years ago, with the ever increasing advances in DNA & forensic techniques, it was hoped that something could have been found on her clothes, found nearby. The cop in charge, Max McLean, thought that the killer may have been a regular client or that somebody suspects another person. He appealed for people to come forward and give her family closure. Serial killer Stephen Griffiths has been approached by Police but has refused to answer any questions. Two other past incidents are still being investigated. These are the January 1992 disappearance of Yvonne Fitt, later found bound and gagged in a shallow grave and the 2000 disappearance of Gemma Simpson, 23. Both were last seen in Bradford. As ever, if anybody knows anything, they should contact Police regardless of who the person is. Let us hope these can be resolved.
Two years ago, with the ever increasing advances in DNA & forensic techniques, it was hoped that something could have been found on her clothes, found nearby. The cop in charge, Max McLean, thought that the killer may have been a regular client or that somebody suspects another person. He appealed for people to come forward and give her family closure. Serial killer Stephen Griffiths has been approached by Police but has refused to answer any questions. Two other past incidents are still being investigated. These are the January 1992 disappearance of Yvonne Fitt, later found bound and gagged in a shallow grave and the 2000 disappearance of Gemma Simpson, 23. Both were last seen in Bradford. As ever, if anybody knows anything, they should contact Police regardless of who the person is. Let us hope these can be resolved.
Wednesday, 16 April 2014
"You Will Have To Miss The Races"
This is one of those cases where bare faced cheek actually did NOT work. The person who thought he would wriggle out of his charge was burglar and drug addict Barry Slaven. This persistent offender - 68 previous offences - had burgled a house whilst its occupants were away and ransacked it for £7000 worth of goods. He left plenty of evidence so Police were on to him very quickly. He was arrested at his girlfriends home, where he tried to hide in a wardrobe! Of course, Police would never think of looking in there. At his home address, Police recovered stolen property and a burglars` toolkit.
Slaven, from Undercliffe in Bradford, said that because his family thought he was making good progress - which is why he smashed his way into the house in order to rob it - they had booked him a holiday in the Isle of Man, to watch the TT races. His family told the court that he was a volunteer drug worker, and had a part time job - obviously not paying enough to pay for drugs - but the Judge, Mr Jonathan Durham Hall, was not playing soft. He rightly said that the backlash for letting a persistent offender off, from the general public and local media on him, was not worth it. He sentenced him to three years, less time served and the discount for pleading guilty, and told him that he will have to miss the races. Well done Mr Hall.
Slaven, from Undercliffe in Bradford, said that because his family thought he was making good progress - which is why he smashed his way into the house in order to rob it - they had booked him a holiday in the Isle of Man, to watch the TT races. His family told the court that he was a volunteer drug worker, and had a part time job - obviously not paying enough to pay for drugs - but the Judge, Mr Jonathan Durham Hall, was not playing soft. He rightly said that the backlash for letting a persistent offender off, from the general public and local media on him, was not worth it. He sentenced him to three years, less time served and the discount for pleading guilty, and told him that he will have to miss the races. Well done Mr Hall.
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
The Execution of Jessie Bishop
David Ballard was a 22 year old man celebrating his wedding when he entered into actions that cost him his life. It was 1977. He left his wedding reception at El Morocco Casino in Las Vegas, when it was being robbed by gunman Jessie Bishop and tackled him. Bishop just shot him dead without hesitation. Bishop was quickly apprehended by Police and put on trial for capital murder. The State of Nevada had reinstated the death penalty, and two had already met their fate; one Gary Gilmore, then John Spenkelink. Bishop was convicted and sentenced to death. Bishop then waived all his appeals, and let justice run its course. It ended on October 22nd 1979, in Carson City, Nevada. Bishop, it was said, was "tough as nails" right to the end, as he was strapped into the Gas Chamber. He smiled as the pellets were dropped into the acid, producing the lethal gas, and minutes later, pronounced dead. After this, Nevada did away with the Gas Chamber, replacing it with Lethal Injection.
So who was Jessie Bishop? He was born 1st March 1933, and spent a total of twenty years in prison for various offences. Whilst on Death Row, he claimed to have killed 18 people. Most of them, he said, were over drugs. It is not known if there is any substance to this claim. It happens a lot when killers face a whole life stretch behind bars, or face execution. It is either their last boasts, or try to use it to keep the execution chamber at bay, like Bundy.
So who was Jessie Bishop? He was born 1st March 1933, and spent a total of twenty years in prison for various offences. Whilst on Death Row, he claimed to have killed 18 people. Most of them, he said, were over drugs. It is not known if there is any substance to this claim. It happens a lot when killers face a whole life stretch behind bars, or face execution. It is either their last boasts, or try to use it to keep the execution chamber at bay, like Bundy.
Arthur Frederick Goode - Sick Child Killer
This was one of those cases that inspire revulsion equally for the crimes, but with some, for the punishment. Arthur Frederick Goode was a remorseless child killer, who as a last request before his execution, made a truly revolting one. Critics of the death penalty would cite that he was not in control of his mental faculties. Goode was borderline retarded. Not so retarded with what he told cops who arrested him. Not so retarded with his taunting of the families of his victims. Not so retarded when he smirkingly made his last request. Goode was a danger to children since he was a teenager, yet his parents bailed him out every time.
Goode was born in Hyattsville, Maryland on 28th March 1954, but what triggered his behaviour seems to be unknown. He gained attention as a teenager, for making sexual advances to young boys. This made him a notorious character in his neighbourhood. He was arrested three times for indecent assault on young boys but his parents bailed him out each time. By march 1975, he had been arrested for sexual assault on a 9 year old boy. Yet again, his parents bailed him out. They paid $25,000. Then whilst on bail, he molested a boy of 11 but part of the deal was that he voluntarily became a patient at Spring Grove State Hospital. The term was "voluntary" which naturally he walked away from after some time, travelling to Florida, where his parents had moved to. He also received 5 years probation. A bench warrant was issued for him but it would seem that this dangerous paedophile was not dangerous in the eyes of Police, as nobody bothered to apprehend him. This was to have very tragic circumstances for two families.
Goode approached a young boy at a school bus stop on March 5th 1976, in Fort Myers. Jason Verdow, 9, was tricked by Goode into going into nearby woods to search for something. There he strangled the boy. Goode was subsequently questioned twice by Police, but not arrested. He made his way back to the Spring Grove Hospital but only stayed for a couple of minutes, then fled. He believed the staff were contacting Police. Another rational conscious decision. He then persuaded a ten year old boy, Billy Arthe to go with and visit Washington DC. For the next ten days, they slept in cheap motels. Then on March 20th, they came upon 11 year old Kenny Dawson, and persuaded him to accompany them to Tysons Corner, in Virginia. There he took him into woods, forced him to strip, then strangled him with a belt. Billy Arthe looked on terrified. In Falls Church, a woman recognised Billy from a photograph that had been issued and called cops.
As he was being taken away, Goods told Police "You cannot do anything to me. I`m sick" Yes, quite a rational thing to say, and already paving the way for a defence. A jury in Maryland did not agree with him and he was given a life sentence for the murder of Kenny Dawson. Extradited to Florida, he was convicted of the murder of Jason Verdow and sentenced to death. From Death Row, he taunted the families, boasting of his crimes. Asked for a last request, he said he wanted sex with a little boy!!!! On 5th April 1984, they strapped this waste of sperm into the chair and gave him a shock. Goode had a sort of obsession with child actor Ricky Schroeder, so was his murders his way of "killing" Ricky? Who knows?
Goode was born in Hyattsville, Maryland on 28th March 1954, but what triggered his behaviour seems to be unknown. He gained attention as a teenager, for making sexual advances to young boys. This made him a notorious character in his neighbourhood. He was arrested three times for indecent assault on young boys but his parents bailed him out each time. By march 1975, he had been arrested for sexual assault on a 9 year old boy. Yet again, his parents bailed him out. They paid $25,000. Then whilst on bail, he molested a boy of 11 but part of the deal was that he voluntarily became a patient at Spring Grove State Hospital. The term was "voluntary" which naturally he walked away from after some time, travelling to Florida, where his parents had moved to. He also received 5 years probation. A bench warrant was issued for him but it would seem that this dangerous paedophile was not dangerous in the eyes of Police, as nobody bothered to apprehend him. This was to have very tragic circumstances for two families.
Goode approached a young boy at a school bus stop on March 5th 1976, in Fort Myers. Jason Verdow, 9, was tricked by Goode into going into nearby woods to search for something. There he strangled the boy. Goode was subsequently questioned twice by Police, but not arrested. He made his way back to the Spring Grove Hospital but only stayed for a couple of minutes, then fled. He believed the staff were contacting Police. Another rational conscious decision. He then persuaded a ten year old boy, Billy Arthe to go with and visit Washington DC. For the next ten days, they slept in cheap motels. Then on March 20th, they came upon 11 year old Kenny Dawson, and persuaded him to accompany them to Tysons Corner, in Virginia. There he took him into woods, forced him to strip, then strangled him with a belt. Billy Arthe looked on terrified. In Falls Church, a woman recognised Billy from a photograph that had been issued and called cops.
As he was being taken away, Goods told Police "You cannot do anything to me. I`m sick" Yes, quite a rational thing to say, and already paving the way for a defence. A jury in Maryland did not agree with him and he was given a life sentence for the murder of Kenny Dawson. Extradited to Florida, he was convicted of the murder of Jason Verdow and sentenced to death. From Death Row, he taunted the families, boasting of his crimes. Asked for a last request, he said he wanted sex with a little boy!!!! On 5th April 1984, they strapped this waste of sperm into the chair and gave him a shock. Goode had a sort of obsession with child actor Ricky Schroeder, so was his murders his way of "killing" Ricky? Who knows?
Monday, 14 April 2014
The Disappearance of Heather Danyelle Teague
This missing person case has opened up a can of worms, after a suspect took his own life when cops were going to question him. This led to rampant speculation that this suspect was the assailant. Why take your own life? Was it because of guilt? Avoiding justice? But then a second suspect surfaced. A man with a track record. The girl who has vanished is Heather Danyelle Teague aged 23. She was sunbathing on Newburgh Beach in Spottsville, Henderson County in Kentucky, on August 26th 1995 and has never been seen since.
Heather was born on 25th April 1972, and loved going to sunbathe. She went to Newburgh Beach, and at 12.45pm a witness saw a man approach Heather with a gun. He was viewing this through a telescope from across the Ohio River - Was he viewing Heather? - when a bushy bearded man about 6 feet in height and 210 - 230 pounds, with no shirt on , possibly wearing a wig, a mosquito net on him and carrying a gun, grabbed Heather by the hair. She was dragged into nearby woods. He notified Police. They later found part of her bathing suit near to the site of her abduction. Six months prior, in February, Marvin Dill was stopped by Police on a traffic violation. His red & white Ford Bronco had guns, duct tape, gloves and rope in it. Then in August, after Heather`s disappearance, tips to cops led them to go to question Dill. A red & white Ford Bronco was reported as being parked next to Heather`s car. Dill heard about this, sent his wife out of the home and then shot himself. A Grand Jury was convened to ascertain if enough evidence was there to categorically link Dill to the disappearance. His wife refused to testify, citing the Fifth Amendment, against self-incrimination. A very strange decision. What could she possibly be hiding?
Then a second suspect emerged; one Christopher Below, who was later convicted for the 1991 death of Kathern Fetzer, for 11-18 years. He pled guilty to attempted involuntary manslaughter. He is similar in appearance to Dill. The witness however, was adamant in his identification of Dill as the man he observed. Miss Fetzer has never been found. Below is also the suspect in the disappearances of Mary Kutso, Shaylene Farrell & Kristina Porco. Authorities have no evidence linking Below to Heather. Point that does stand out is that Heather, Kathern, Mary, Shaylene & Kristina have never been found. So who was responsible for the disappearance of Heather Teague?
Heather was born on 25th April 1972, and loved going to sunbathe. She went to Newburgh Beach, and at 12.45pm a witness saw a man approach Heather with a gun. He was viewing this through a telescope from across the Ohio River - Was he viewing Heather? - when a bushy bearded man about 6 feet in height and 210 - 230 pounds, with no shirt on , possibly wearing a wig, a mosquito net on him and carrying a gun, grabbed Heather by the hair. She was dragged into nearby woods. He notified Police. They later found part of her bathing suit near to the site of her abduction. Six months prior, in February, Marvin Dill was stopped by Police on a traffic violation. His red & white Ford Bronco had guns, duct tape, gloves and rope in it. Then in August, after Heather`s disappearance, tips to cops led them to go to question Dill. A red & white Ford Bronco was reported as being parked next to Heather`s car. Dill heard about this, sent his wife out of the home and then shot himself. A Grand Jury was convened to ascertain if enough evidence was there to categorically link Dill to the disappearance. His wife refused to testify, citing the Fifth Amendment, against self-incrimination. A very strange decision. What could she possibly be hiding?
Then a second suspect emerged; one Christopher Below, who was later convicted for the 1991 death of Kathern Fetzer, for 11-18 years. He pled guilty to attempted involuntary manslaughter. He is similar in appearance to Dill. The witness however, was adamant in his identification of Dill as the man he observed. Miss Fetzer has never been found. Below is also the suspect in the disappearances of Mary Kutso, Shaylene Farrell & Kristina Porco. Authorities have no evidence linking Below to Heather. Point that does stand out is that Heather, Kathern, Mary, Shaylene & Kristina have never been found. So who was responsible for the disappearance of Heather Teague?
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